He Liked The Otter – So He Bought It
By Pat Walkup, Fergus Falls Journal, May 18, 1978
Oren Dahl, Blanche Lake, didn’t know what he was starting when he offered to show his brother from St. Paul some of the sights of Otter Tail County.
Actually, Kelly Dahl already knew the basic landmarks – he was born and raised on a farm about five miles north of Battle Lake in Everts Township. But he moved to the Cities in the forties.
"I’ll show you that we’ve got places up here; you don’t have to go to Minneapolis and St. Paul to go to a nice place," Oren told his brother, who happens to own a liquor and entertainment establishment in St. Paul.
Oren took his brother and sister-in-law to the Otter Supper Club, which Chuck Minge has been adding on to, remodeling and redecorating ever since he took it over.
"I showed them around and we sat down," Oren recalled. That was about 11 a.m. Oren introduced his brother to Minge, who offered to show the guests what the motel decor was like. By 5 p.m., Minge and Kelly Dahl had reached a tentative agreement on the sale of the supper club and motel.
Dennis Dahl, owner of the Otter Supper Club and Motel in 1978, hadn’t planned on buying a business; it just worked out that way. (Journal photo by Pat Walkup)
"It was like a car accident," said Oren, snapping his fingers to indicate the swiftness of events. "It just happened."
That’s not the end of the story, though. Kelly then called his son, Dennis, who has been working with him at the St. Paul business for eight years. "He told me to be here Monday morning," Dennis recalled. "He told me about the place and how nice it was. He was very impressed with the decor, how full it was (this was before the season even opened), and the help. So Dennis came up to take a look – and ended up buying the supper club himself.
So Dennis Dahl, 27, is running the supper club and Chuck Minge is planning to stay in the area and start a contracting and decorating business.
As for the Otter Supper Club, Dennis assures patrons that there won’t be any big changes: the music will remain the same type, with a blend of old and new favorites, and the Wednesday night roast beef smorgasbord will continue. "I hope to operate the place as well as Chuck Minge has."
And so that’s some of the history of how the Otter Supper Club started, leading up to the present day. New owners took over at The Otter in 2002, when Mike Hilgers became a partner. Mike is from Wahpeton, having grown up there and graduated from NDSU in Fargo. Mike has been coming to the Ottertail Lakes area for many years, owning several properties in the region. With his other partners at the time, they began making improvements. In 2006, Mike brought in his favorite brother-in-law, Chuck Haberman, and both continue today as the two proud owners of The Otter. Chuck grew up in the Wyndmere area west of Wahpeton and graduated from UND in Grand Forks. Chuck has been coming to the Ottertail Lakes area for 50 years. Both Mike and Chuck have many friends and relatives around the lake and around the area. They hope to see everyone at The Otter throughout the year. Both share in the duties of owners of The Otter and have numerous plans to keep The Otter ‘lookin good,’ trying to keep it as a place to go in the Ottertail Lakes region for food, entertainment, and lodging!
Make sure when you stop in that you always ask for either of us because if we’re not related or a friend from the past, then we’d love to get to know you to call you friends going forward. We welcome suggestions to make your stay or dining experience more enjoyable. We both look forward to having an opportunity to meet our guests. Of course, we have our wives in the background (Kim Hilgers and Patti Haberman), who really make all the decisions!!